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Baron Zemo
"Give up, Zemo." :"Never! This is my world, and you don't belong in it!" :―Captain America and Baron Zemo Baron Heinrich Zemo is a major antagonist in the Kingdom Hearts Unlimited Saga, first appearing in "The Journey" as a high-ranking acolyte of the Hellfire Organization's forces. He later returns in "The Fantasmic Dreamtime" as the mastermind behind the Avengers Civil War, having learned from the mistakes of his contemporaries when dealing with heroes messing up his plans. Zemo was originally one of the first leaders of the terrorist organization HYDRA, but after Captain America's disappearance, he went into hiding for many years until being found by Loki Laufeyson and recruited into the Elite Dominion of the Hellfire Organization. Story Origins The story of the Zemo family begins with Harbin Zemo, a minor nobleman who lived in the town of Zeulniz in what is now Germany in 1480. He earned the title of baron while defending the town from Slavic raiders. Hungry for more power, Harbin established relations with the Brotherhood of the Spear, the cult worshipping the Old Ones which would eventually evolve into HYDRA in the modern era. In exchange for the guarantee of power, knowledge, and success to every male child born into his family, Harbin offered the lives of his subjects up to the Brotherhood as sacrifices. Harbin's first son was Hademar, who was even worse than his father. Hademar's greed knew no bounds and he despised the common people, seeing them as less than human. Upon Harbin's death, Hademar ascended to the Zemo barony and immediately announced new repressive laws against the common people. However, Hademar's son Heller, sickened by the acts of his father and grandfather, led a rebellion against Hademar, assassinating him with the aid of the army. Heller tried to sever his family's ties to the Brotherhood, repealing the laws of his father and ushering in an era of peace and prosperity for his people. Unfortunately, Heller's son Herbert did not share his father's altruism. Offered greater glory than his father ever dreamed of by the Brotherhood, Herbert reestablished his great-grandfather's alliance with them, embarking on a war against the Vatican as an offering to the cult. However, Herbert was killed by his own men, who feared reprisals for this heresy. Herbert's first two children died young, but his third son Helmuth succeeded to the barony. Possessing a keen intellect, Helmuth helped advance the Brotherhood's scientific knowledge with his experiments on unwilling human subjects. He was eventually assassinated for his cruel acts. The next baron was Helmuth's son Hackett, also known as the Hangman for his penchant of punishing any acts of insubordination from his subjects with death sentences. He was succeeded by his son Hartwig, who again tried to sever his family's ties to the Brotherhood. Leading his people in the Seven Years War, he was killed in battle by agents of the Brotherhood, who feared the rule of another Heller Zemo. Hartwig's son Hilliard tried to keep his father's policies against the Brotherhood in place, but was forced to concede to them when the cult threatened the life of his lover Elsbeth Kleinenshvitz. Elsbeth managed to escape from the cult's clutches, but never saw Hilliard again. Hilliard's son Hoffman, the ninth Baron Zemo, was a minor figure about whom little is known. He fathered Hobart, who championed social reform in the nobility and favored the working classes. However, Brotherhood agents incited an anti-nobility mob that killed Hobart, seeing him as just another nobleman. Hobart's son Herman fought in World War I, hoping to reestablish his family's lost glory. A scientist, he helped create new chemical weapons for the German army, dying of a heart attack in 1921 after seeing his country's defeat. Birth of A New Era Herman fathered Heinrich, the 12th Baron Zemo, born in 1900. Seeing the previous three generations of his family as weak fools who had refused the Brotherhood's gifts and paid the price for it, he reestablished ties with the cult, helping them adapt to the 20th century. Along with fellow German associates of the Brotherhood Johann Schimdt, Arnim Zola, and Wolfgang von Strucker, Heinrich renamed the Brotherhood HYDRA, after the mythological serpent; just as the Hydra of myth spawned a new head every time one was severed, so had the Brotherhood survived through the ages in myriad forms. The new German HYDRA soon deviated from the Brotherhood's original purpose, seeking power for themselves instead of working to restore the rule of the Old Ones. Their new philosophy was that mankind could not be trusted with its own freedom, and needed the guiding hand of HYDRA in order to truly prosper. HYDRA oversaw Adolf Hitler's rise to power in Germany, making the Fuhrer a puppet ruler HYDRA could use to spread their crusade across the world. In order to create soldiers for HYDRA, Zemo worked with Doctor Abraham Erskine and Johann Schimdt to develop the Super-Soldier Serum. Schimdt volunteered to be the Serum's first human test subject, but the prototype Serum instead horrifically scarred him, turning his face into a shrunken red skull. Disgusted, and learning HYDRA's intentions for the Serum, Erskine defected to the United States, where he would perfect the Serum and use it to turn Steve Rogers into Captain America, who would go on to battle HYDRA. Infuriated by Erskine's betrayal, Zemo ordered his assassination, ensuring the secrets of the Serum would die with him. Continuing his work with HYDRA, Zemo discovered a secret long buried under his family castle. During the reign of Heller Zemo, schematics for an ancient Kree superweapon had been found in the caverns beneath Castle Zemo. Working with HYDRA engineer Doctor Gero, Zemo used the schematics to construct the Sleeper, which he intended to unleash on the Allied forces. Attacking Castle Zemo, Captain America managed to destroy the Sleeper and confronted Zemo, who revealed he had created a chemical weapon known as Virus X, which he had intended to use as his backup plan in razing the world for HYDRA since the Sleeper had been destroyed. In battle with the Captain, one of the Virus X containers was shattered and its contents spilled on Zemo, seeping through his mask to utterly mutilate his face. Zemo was forced to retreat before Cap could finish him off. Swearing revenge, Zemo was disappointed when he learned that Cap had disappeared after thwarting the Red Skull's attempt to bomb multiple major cities across the world. Meeting with paramilitary commander Werner Reinhardt, Zemo agreed to undergo a treatment that would stave off Virus X's effects and place him in suspended animation. Here, Zemo would remain until Captain America returned, when he would take his desired revenge. A Fragmentary Passage (Zemo's evolution to his current form, and masterminding events to allow his return to power within new HYDRA) The Journey :"How are you still alive, Zemo?" "Death means nothing to me. I have evolved my body over the years." (Zemo as he appears in EMH Season 1 mixed with Avengers 2012) A Year of Misery (Zemo locked up in prison, cameo appearance, dealing with Loki's betrayal) An Empire of Dreams :"Guten Tag, Captain Rogers. It is so good to see you again..." (interwoven into the events of Winter Soldier, takes on role of Sephiroth at Hollow Bastion, a rival to Captain America, uneasy alliance with the heroes to stop Emperor Zurg and Ultron; takes part in the Battle of Sokovia) (Winter Soldier - is initially seen sitting in his prison cell in the Vault/Raft, before being personally approached by Alexander Pierce, who has let him free from his sentence on bail in exchange for doing him a little favor: eliminate Captain America before Project Insight can be launched; becomes a fierce rival to Winter Soldier in hunting for the fugitives, rubbing in his face on how Bucky's become little more than a mindless walking talking weapon and how it must pain both the true Bucky and Steve to see himself what he's become; goes off on his own way, and manages to discover the location of the hidden SHIELD hideout, leading to a one-on-one confrontation between Cap and Zemo, taking inspiration from the battle between Cloud and Sephiroth in KH II, before ending when the disguised Ellidyr inteferes with the fight and helps Steve defeat Zemo; Zemo flees with a promise that this is only the beginning, and that the true SHIELD must be beware for the coming storm when HYDRA returns in full force; later shows up unexpectedly during the resulting SHIELD Uprising/Battle of 1000 Darkhearts to save Natasha and Nick Fury from Alexander Pierce, dissing the old fool for believing he could ever lead HYDRA to glory when he was nothing more but a pawn of greater evils; disappears into the darkness before anyone can stop him) (Agents of SHIELD Season 1.5/2 - Makes intermittent cameos here and there, slowly rebuilding his power by recruiting members of a new incarnation of the Masters of Earth, while also stealing the technology of Daniel Whitehall and Doctor Nikolaus Geist List's HYDRA factions; might also serve as one of two puppet masters behind Mr. Hyde/Calvin Zabo, while also corrupting Jiaying into a Magneto clone to further his own incarnation of HYDRA's goals) (Age of Ultron - pulls a few strings to allow the Avengers to reform in order to have them all in one spot for him to kill once they have defeated his old rival Baron Strucker for him; is suddenly given a mental command by some strange unearthly entity to come to the World of Nonexistence to hear the word of the new King of Darkness; bears witness to the unveiling of Ultron, Cell, and the Wicked Beast as Death Phantom Palpatine's new generals and commanders over the remnants of the villain organizations combined into one singular Dark Moon Organization XIII; is made a subordinate to Ultron, to which he heavily criticizes this decision and butts heads repeatedly with the super android over leadership of the Masters, even as the brainwashed Crossbones and Grim Reaper take Ultron's side; is sent to Seoul with Crossbones and Abomination to steal the cradle Ultron needs to try and evolve into Vision; battles against Captain America, but loses due to being unprepared for Ultron to backstab and forcibly fire him from his own team; is left behind for the Avengers to arrest, and is interrogated as to the Doom Phantom's true goals; is restrained with a stasis collar to keep him in line so that he doesn't attempt to betray the heroes and reformed villains as they venture forth into the final battle against Emperor Zurg, Darth Vader, and Death Phantom Palpatine's forces; is able to gather as many new recruits by breaking them free of Ultron's mind-control, then slips away unnoticed during the battle to plot anew in the shadows, only barely managing to escape Sokovia before the nation falls from the sky and is shattered to pieces; stops briefly to rip out Jiaying's heart, mocking her for ever believing she could be the one to allow for Inhuman-kind to become the masters of the world, when he has already pledged his allegiance to one far more ancient and far more capable than this poor little surgery victim of Whitehall's could ever hope to be...) Encoded Truths :"Dear Edmund, you have my condolences...right from the bottom of my heart. But let's not deceive ourselves. You and I both know you will never escape the darkness of your past. So why not use that darkness against the monsters who destroyed your happy life and plunge this world into absolute despair?" (Starts gathering the new Masters of Evil, as he ends up running into the grieving Sokovian soldier Edmund Heidler, beginning his manipulation of turning Edmund into his Death Seeking vengeful Dragon) The Fantasmic Dreamtime :"I think I've finally realized how best to restore '''our' glorious empire of HYDRA against those fools who think themselves to rule over us with an empire of friendship and naivete. Now listen well; an empire toppled by its enemies can rise again. But one which crumbles from within? That's dead, Herr Rumlow. Forever. Which, if I may well recall, was nearly our fate as well all those years ago if it hadn't been for me..." (Shares part of the role of a heavily edited version of CivilWar!Zemo with Edmund Heidler/Hate-Monger, retaining his previous personality, now allies with Hive, Gideon Malick, and the 13 Seekers) Return of the Keyblade :"''That's absurd. Defeating me is meaningless. You know that more than anyone, Captain. Our lives, nein, our very destinies, are permanently linked to one another thanks to the power of the Stones. No matter how many times I fall, your desire for companionship in a world that no longer needs you or any of us from that failure of a world war will just keep calling me back!" (New leader of the Masters of Evil during Infinity War/Endgame; finds out the hard way that Johann Schmidt is still alive after all this time when he returns to Earth thanks to Thanos' deal involving the Soul Stone) The Second Trilogy Appearance and Personality Abilities Gallery 4d55e16377826 zemo.jpg|Baron Heinrich Zemo as he appeared in World War II - War-Torn America campaign of "Birth of A New Era" Baron Helmut Zemo.jpg|Zemo's upgraded outfit for the events of the Civil War-torn America campaign in "The Fantasmic Dreamtime" 4dspn1x1bf501.jpg|Baron Heinrich Zemo's third costume, as seen in the live-action universe Category:Villains Category:The Hellfire Organization Category:Mastermind Category:HYDRA Category:Swordsmen Category:Crime Lords Category:Separatists Category:Soldiers Category:Terrorists Category:The Galactic Empire Category:Gunslingers Category:Criminals Category:The Masters of Evil Category:The Thunderbolts Category:Nazis Category:The New Hellfire Organization